Genesee Sewage Treatment Facility, Genesee, Idaho | Secondary Treatment Plant

The Genesee Sewage Treatment Facility is a municipal wastewater plant located in Genesee, Idaho, serving a small community of 955 residents. The facility provides secondary treatment, which is the standard level required by the US Clean Water Act for inland plants of this scale. With a designed capacity of 302.83 million gallons per year and an actual discharge volume of 336.90 million gallons per year, the plant operates slightly above its design capacity. As a US facility, it operates under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program, which sets effluent limits to protect water quality. The plant discharges treated wastewater into local waterways that ultimately drain into the Potlatch River and then the Clearwater River, part of the Snake River basin. This watershed supports diverse aquatic life and is important for regional agriculture and recreation.

The plant's treated effluent enters the Potlatch River watershed, which flows into the Clearwater River and then the Snake River, eventually reaching the Columbia River and the Pacific Ocean. This inland basin supports salmonid habitats and is ecologically sensitive to nutrient loading and pollutant discharges.